The Billabong Clipper
The Ultimate Global Surf Adventure
Newport Harbor, California, USA
13 -
14 December 2004
Billabong Clipper Seaplane Completes Historic Ocean Landing Off Southern
California Beach;
Vintage Grumman Albatross Makes Unprecedented Visit Inside
Newport Bay for Christening
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, NEWPORT BEACH, CA -- (December
13, 2004) -- The Billabong Clipper, a classic military seaplane refitted as the
ultimate surf exploration craft, made its first public appearance today with a
spectacular ocean landing off of Newport Harbor. The vintage Grumman HU-16B
"Albatross" skimmed across the seas off Corona del Mar this afternoon, touching
down on the Pacific waters in a sight not seen off the California coast in
decades.
With an Orange County Sheriff's Department Harbor Patrol escort, the flying
boat was towed into the harbormouth by two SeaTow support vessels and moored off
picturesque China Cove, just inside Corona del Mar State Beach. The vintage
amphibious warbird, in its new tan and brown paint scheme, evoked the glamour
and adventure of the Pam Am Clipper flying boats which opened up transpacific
routes some 70 years ago.
Professional surfers Shane Dorian, Donovan Frankenreiter and Benji Weatherly
were on board for the maiden voyage of the Clipper, and were thrilled at the
sensation of alighting on the ocean at over 80 knots and sliding to a halt just
across the jetty from the famed Wedge surf spot.
Billabong clipper landing : photo Les Walker/Billabong
"That was an amazing experience," said Dorian, world-renowned for his years
on the world pro surfing tour and his big wave skills. "It was so much fun. This
plane will open up the door to a whole new realm of surf exploration to places
no one has ever been."
Officials at the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum believe this is the largest
seaplane to ever visit Newport Harbor, and the first in many decades. Newport
was the site of the first ever seaplane flight conducted by aviation pioneer
Glenn Martin in 1912.
The location area holds other historic significance as the breakers off
Corona del Mar were the epicenter of American surfing in the 1920s and early
30s, and the spot where surf legends like Duke Kahanamoku and Tom Blake honed
their skills long before San Onofre and Malibu came into favor. The adjacent
China Cove beach was often used as a place to build and modify the enormous
wooden surfboards of the era. The Billabong Clipper is moored off the Kerckhoff
Marine Institute, a CalTech research facility which dates back to its founding
as a beach club in the Roaring Twenties.
Donovan Frankenreiter and Benji Weatherly : photo Les Walker/Billabong
The aircraft will remain in Newport Harbor through tomorrow, when it will be
christened in a brief ceremony before departing on a series of worldwide surfing
exploration adventures. For more information see the project website at www.BillabongClipper.com . Photos of the arrival will be
available on the website later today.
www.BillabongClipper.com
More USA/Cen Amer. surfing news available here
Check the
latest West Coast Surf Reports and
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Bill Sharp
SurfNewsEd@aol.com
Adventure Surfing - Surfersvillage
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